How To Mirror Draw On Photoshop

How to utilize Pigment Symmetry in Photoshop CC 2019

Learn how to use the new Paint Symmetry feature in Photoshop CC 2019 to hands create fun, symmetrical artwork and designs!

Pigment Symmetry in Photoshop allows you to paint multiple castor strokes at once to create mirrored, symmetrical designs and patterns. It works with the Castor Tool, the Pencil Tool and the Eraser Tool, and it also works with layer masks.

First added equally a technical preview in Photoshop CC 2018, Paint Symmetry is now an official part of Photoshop as of CC 2019. All of the more basic symmetry options from CC 2018, like Vertical, Horizontal and Diagonal, are included. Plus CC 2019 also adds two new symmetry modes, Radial and Mandala, that allow yous create astonishing, highly complex symmetrical artwork in seconds! Permit'south see how it works.

To follow along, yous'll need Photoshop CC. And if you're already a Creative Deject subscriber, brand certain that your copy of Photoshop CC is up to engagement. Let's get started!

How to paint with symmetry in Photoshop

We'll outset by learning the basics of how to apply Paint Symmetry to create symmetrical artwork and designs. Once nosotros know the nuts, I'll show yous how to combine Paint Symmetry with layer masks for more artistic effects!

Step 1: Add a new blank layer

Kickoff by calculation a new bare layer to your document. This will keep your brush strokes separate from everything else. To add a new layer, click the New Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers console:

Clicking the New Layer icon.

Step ii: Select the Brush Tool, Pencil Tool or Eraser Tool

Paint Symmetry works with the Brush Tool, the Pencil Tool and the Eraser Tool, all of which are found in the Toolbar. I'll select the Brush Tool:

Selecting the Brush Tool.

How to download over one thousand more brushes in Photoshop

Step three: Open up the Paint Symmetry menu

With the Brush, Pencil or Eraser Tool selected, a Pigment Symmetry icon (a piddling butterfly) appears in the Options Bar. Click the icon to open the Paint Symmetry menu:

Clicking the Paint Symmetry (butterfly) icon.

Pace four: Choose a symmetry pick

So in the menu, choose a symmetry pick from the list. At that place are ten different styles to cull from in CC 2019, including the new Radial and Mandala options at the bottom:

The Paint Symmetry options in Photoshop CC 2019.

The Paint Symmetry options in Photoshop CC 2019

Here's a quick summary of how each of Photoshop'southward 10 Paint Symmetry options works:

• Vertical: Divides the sail vertically and mirrors brush strokes from one side onto the other side.
• Horizontal: Divides the sheet horizontally and mirrors brush strokes from the superlative onto the bottom, or from the bottom onto the top.
• Dual Centrality: Divides the canvas vertically and horizontally into iv equal sections (summit left, tiptop correct, bottom left, and bottom right). Painting in 1 section mirrors your castor strokes in the other iii.
• Diagonal: Divides the canvas diagonally and mirrors brush strokes from one side onto the other.
• Wavy: Similar to Vertical but with a curved, wavy line instead of a directly line.
• Circle: Mirrors brush strokes painted inside a circle outside the circle, and vice versa.
• Spiral: Mirrors brush strokes painted forth either side of a spiral path.
• Parallel Lines: Divides the canvass into three vertical sections using ii parallel vertical lines. Brush strokes painted in the middle section are mirrored in the left and correct sections.
• Radial: Divides the canvas into diagonal segments, or "slices". Brush strokes painted in i segment are mirrored in the others.
• Mandala: Similar to Radial, but mirrors the castor strokes within each segment too, creating twice every bit many brush strokes as Radial.

We won't get through every symmetry option here since you can easily try them out on your ain. But to prove you the basics of how they work, I'll choose a simple one, like Dual Centrality. Dual Axis is a combination of the Vertical and Horizontal modes listed higher up it:

Selecting one of the ten Paint Symmetry options.

The symmetry path

Choosing an pick from the menu adds a blue symmetry path to the document. In this example, it's a Dual Centrality symmetry path, dividing the canvas vertically and horizontally into iv equal sections:

A symmetry path appears.

Step five: Resize and accept the path

Before you can pigment with a symmetry path, Photoshop first places a Transform box around the path so you tin can calibration and resize it if needed. But note that the path is for visual reference only. Symmetry paths ever touch the entire canvas regardless of the path's actual size. Since painting outside the path boundary has the same event as painting inside information technology, in that location's really zilch to be gained by resizing symmetry paths. And so in most cases, yous won't demand to resize it.

However, if yous practice desire to resize the path, merely drag any of the transform handles to scale the path proportionally. To scale the path from its center, press and hold Alt (Win) / Selection (Mac) as you lot elevate a handle. Y'all tin also move the path to a different location in the certificate by clicking and dragging inside the Transform box:

Scaling the symmetry path past dragging a corner handle.

Related: Free Transform's new features and changes in CC 2019

To accept the path (even if you did non resize it) and go out out of the Transform control, click the checkmark in the Options Bar, or printing Enter (Win) / Return (Mac) on your keyboard:

Clicking the checkmark to commit the path.

Step half dozen: Paint in i of the sections to create symmetry

And so, with the symmetry path in place, simply paint inside 1 of the sections. Photoshop will automatically copy and mirror your brush stroke in the other sections, creating a symmetrical pattern:

Painting a single castor stroke creates multiple, mirrored strokes.

The more brush strokes y'all paint, the more complex the design becomes. Even with limited painting skills, Photoshop makes it easy to come up up with something interesting:

Painting more brush strokes adds to the symmetrical design.

How to hibernate the symmetry path

To view your artwork without the blue symmetry path getting in the way, hide the path past clicking the Pigment Symmetry icon (the butterfly) in the Options Bar and choosing Hibernate Symmetry:

Choosing Hide Symmetry from the Pigment Symmetry options.

Since the path is merely for visual reference, y'all tin can go along painting and calculation to the design even with the path hidden:

Hiding the path still lets you paint symmetrically.

How to show the symmetry path

To show the path again, click the butterfly icon in the Options Bar and choose Evidence Symmetry:

Choosing Show Symmetry from the Paint Symmetry options.

And now the path is once once again visible:

Is it art? Probably not, just it was certainly easy.

Viewing the symmetry path in the Paths panel

Like regular paths in Photoshop, symmetry paths appear in the Paths panel. The path is named based on its symmetry mode (in this case, "Dual Centrality Symmetry ane"). And the butterfly icon in the lower right of the thumbnail tells us not only that information technology's a symmetry path, only that it's currently agile. Yous tin have multiple symmetry paths in the aforementioned certificate (as nosotros'll see in a moment), merely only one can exist agile at a fourth dimension:

Symmetry paths tin can exist viewed and selected in the Paths console.

The new Radial and Mandala symmetry options

New in Photoshop CC 2019 are two new Paint Symmetry options, Radial and Mandala. Allow'due south see how they work.

How to employ the Radial symmetry option

The Radial symmetry way divides the canvas into diagonal segments, or "slices" (remember pizza slices). Painting in ane slice mirrors your castor strokes in the others.

Step 1: Choose Radial from the Path Symmetry options

Click the butterfly icon in the Options Bar and choose Radial from the list:

Choosing Radial from the Paint Symmetry options.

Step ii: Set the number of segments

And then choose the number of path segments (slices) you need, from 2 to 12. I'll get with 5:

Choosing the number of segments to dissever the canvas into.

Step three: Pigment in ane of the segments

So simply pigment in i of the segments. Photoshop volition mirror your brush stroke in the other segments, creating a radial pattern:

Creating a radial symmetry design.

How to utilise the Mandala symmetry selection

Like Radial, the Mandala symmetry mode also divides the sail into diagonal segments. The divergence betwixt Radial and Mandala is that, along with mirroring your brush stroke in the other segments, Mandala also mirrors the stroke in the aforementioned segment. This adds twice as many brush strokes equally Radial, assuasive you to create highly complex symmetrical patterns with very little time and effort.

Step one: Choose Mandala from the Path Symmetry options

Click the butterfly icon in the Options Bar and cull Mandala from the listing:

Choosing Mandala from the Paint Symmetry options.

Step 2: Set the number of segments

Then, just like with Radial, choose the number of path segments y'all demand. While Radial lets you lot choose upward to 12 segments, Mandala is limited to 10. I'll go with 8:

Choosing the number of segments.

Pace 3: Paint in one of the segments

Then, just like before, paint in 1 of the segments. Photoshop will mirror your brush stroke in the same segment you pigment in, and it will mirror both brush strokes in the other segments. This complex design took me merely a couple of minutes:

Mandala is the most impressive (and fun) of Photoshop'southward Pigment Symmetry options.

How to undo brush strokes when you lot brand a mistake

Creating symmetrical designs in Photoshop is fun and easy, but can besides involve a lot of trial and error. If you don't like the brush stroke you but painted, yous can undo it from your keyboard by pressing Ctrl+Z (Win) / Command+Z (Mac). Continue pressing the shortcut to undo multiple brush strokes. To redo brush strokes, printing Shift+Ctrl+Z (Win) / Shift+Command+Z (Mac).

How to switch between symmetry paths

Photoshop lets united states of america add multiple symmetry paths to the same document, and each i you add appears in the Paths console. The butterfly icon in the bottom right of a thumbnail indicates the currently-active symmetry path. Merely one path tin be active at a time. In this case, my Mandala path is active:

The butterfly icon shows the agile path.

To switch to one of the other paths in the list, right-click (Win) / Control-click (Mac) on the path you need:

Right-clicking (Win) / Control-clicking (Mac) on the Radial symmetry path.

And then choose Make Symmetry Path from the menu:

Choosing the "Make Symmetry Path" command.

This deactivates the previous path and activates the new 1 so yous tin can paint with it in the certificate:

The Radial Symmetry path is now agile.

The Last Used Symmetry option

You can also switch from your current symmetry path to your previously-used path by clicking the butterfly icon in the Options Bar and choosing Final Used Symmetry:

The Radial Symmetry path is at present active.

How to plough Pigment Symmetry off

To turn Paint Symmetry off and continue painting without the symmetry effect, click the butterfly icon in the Options Bar and choose Symmetry Off:

Choosing "Symmetry Off" from the menu.

How to use Paint Symmetry with a layer mask

Now that nosotros've learned the basics of how Paint Symmetry works, let'southward expect at how we tin can use a symmetry path with a layer mask to create something fifty-fifty more than interesting.

In this document, I have a radial gradient on the Background layer:

A radial spectrum slope.

And if we look in the Layers panel, we see that I likewise have a solid black layer sitting in a higher place the gradient. I'll plow the top layer on past clicking its visibility icon:

Turning the meridian layer on in the document.

And at present the document is filled with black, blocking the slope from view:

The top layer is now hiding the slope.

Step 1: Add together a layer mask

With the acme layer selected, I'll add a layer mask past clicking the Add together Layer Mask icon at the bottom of the Layers console:

Clicking the Add Layer Mask icon.

A layer mask thumbnail appears on the peak layer:

The layer mask thumbnail.

Step two: Select the Castor Tool

I'll select the Brush Tool from the Toolbar:

Selecting the Brush Tool.

Footstep 3: Set the Foreground colour to blackness

And since I desire to hide the peak layer in the areas where the symmetry effect appears, I'll brand sure my Foreground color (the brush color) is fix to black:

Setting the brush color to blackness.

Step 4: Choose a Paint Symmetry option

I'll choose Mandala from the Paint Symmetry options in the Options Bar:

Choosing a symmetry option.

And Photoshop adds a Mandala symmetry path to the document. To have it, I'll press Enter (Win) / Return (Mac) on my keyboard:

The symmetry path is added to the document.

Step five: Paint a symmetrical blueprint on the layer mask

Then, to hibernate the current layer and reveal the layer below it, simply paint on the layer mask. As the symmetry effect expands, more and more of the layer below is revealed. In this case, the colors from my gradient are showing through the brush strokes:

Painting with a symmetry path on the layer mask to reveal the paradigm below.

I'll continue painting to add more brush strokes to the Mandala result. And here is my final, colorful consequence:

The final Mandala design.

And at that place we have it! That's how to apply Paint Symmetry in Photoshop CC 2019! Check out our Photoshop Basics section for more than tutorials! And don' forget, all of our tutorials are now bachelor to download as PDFs!

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